Sunday, May 07, 2006

Elections, Not Singapore Idol

The election results have just been fully released. There was really nothing surprising about the results [ such as the SDP winning a GRC or the PAP losing Ang Mo Kio :) ] . Hence my reactions to the results were rather subdued. What did interest me, though, was the after-election celebrations.

The celebrations had, perhaps by definition, an atmosphere of great joy and exuberance. To me, however, it appeared that the grounds were peopled by rabid and near fanatical supporters. The only way the scenes differed from the finale of Singapore Idol was the fact that everyone was clothed in the same colours.

If the party I voted won, I would not be overwhelmed by sudden joy. If the party lost, I would not be overcome by sorrow or anger. Politics, as the PAP likes to say, is serious business. It is also one which should be run purely by cold rationality. There should be no room for confusing and inaccurate emotions to distract us.

The emotion in these celebrations seems to suggest that many voters are relying on visceral factors than on celebral factors. This cannot be a good sign.

If politics were to follow the way I imagine it, it would admittedly be rather restrained, boring even. But I would rather it be that way than for it to degenerate into a scene reminiscent of popular entertainment.